By Archit Gupta,News18

Copyright news18

The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay is facing criticism over a poster for an upcoming workshop on “South Asian Capitalism(s),” which has gone viral for depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath under the caption “We fool you.”
The two-day workshop, co-organised by UC Berkeley, IIT Bombay, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is scheduled for September 12–13, 2025 and is aimed at exploring how capitalist accumulation is socially structured across South Asia.
The poster, titled “Pyramid of Capitalist India”, adapts the century-old Pyramid of Capitalist System cartoon first published in 1911 by the Industrial Worker newspaper.
The original graphic, inspired by earlier European and Russian caricatures, showed a hierarchy under capitalism. Workers formed the base, supporting soldiers, clergy, and the wealthy, with a bag of money at the top. The message was clear: the system depends on the labour of workers, and without them, it would collapse.
In the 1911 version, the second tier labelled “We Fool You” featured religious leaders from different faiths, highlighting how religion was used to justify inequality. The IIT Bombay-linked poster replaced these figures with India’s top elected leaders, which critics say gives the image a political angle.
Online Backlash Against IIT Bombay
The poster was flagged on X by user @MehHarshit, who wrote: “IIT Bombay sponsors an event on South Asian Capitalism. Poster shows @AmitShah, @narendramodi, and @myogiadityanath with a caption ‘WE FOOL YOU’. No Maulana or Father shown; only a Hindu Monk in saffron robes. Why @iitbombay? @dpradhanbjp.”
Another user wrote, “Painful to see this as an alum and a donor to the institute. Does faculty at @iitbombay @IndiaDST think that longest serving PM is fooling people, and Army is an oppressive force? Humanities departments are now adding net negative value to society.”
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IIT Bombay Denies Involvement
IIT Bombay clarified that it had no role in the poster. The institute said it was unaware of the flyer and immediately instructed organisers to remove it from social media and take IIT Bombay’s name off event materials. Details of the programme were also removed from the New Political Economy Initiative website, a project linked to the workshop.
“No one from IIT Bombay is attending the conference. The Institute was not consulted about the flyer. We are deeply shocked and upset by its content,” the statement said. IIT Bombay also announced it will cease association with the involved UC Berkeley and University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty and conduct a full investigation.